Starting over isn’t always an option, especially after spending dozens of hours building a base, catching Pals, and exploring the world. Fortunately, you can move your existing singleplayer or co-op world to your dedicated Palworld server, allowing you and your friends to continue your adventure without losing any progress.
In this guide, we’ll show you step-by-step how to locate your local Palworld save files, upload them to your dedicated server, and configure the world folder correctly so your server loads your existing save instead of generating a brand-new one.
Getting the Local Save Files for an Existing World
To get started, you need to locate your Palworld save files on your local computer. To do so:
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Press Windows + R to open your “Run” dialogue box.
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Type
%localappdata%to open your AppData/Local folder. -
Open Pal/Saved/SaveGames and select the folder named after your Steam ID. There should only be one, unless you have several accounts with Palworld saves on your PC.
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You’ll find a list of folders that represent your singleplayer and co-op saves.
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To find the right save ID, you can load up the world that you want to copy over, run around for a little bit, and close out of it. The folder that was updated most recently will be the correct save.
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Make note of that folder’s name. This is what you’ll be moving over to your server.
Transferring Your Local Save to Your Palworld Server
Now that you have the save from your local machine, you can get started transferring everything over. Whether you’re switching to a managed server like Physgun or self-hosting, this process is more or less the same for all server types. To transfer your local save:
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Access your Physgun Panel
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If you have a currently running server, shut it off. This will prevent files from not loading or corrupting. We recommend making a backup before messing with data files in case something breaks and you need to reverse it.
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Open the Physgun File Manager (or use an FTP/SFTP client like FileZilla).
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Navigate to the Pal/Saved/SaveGames/0 path and copy the name of your server’s world save folder. You’ll need this to get your new save to work.
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Upload your local co-op or singleplayer folder from the old server or local PC into the directory.
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Delete the old save files and paste the old name onto the new world files. This tells the server that it’s technically reading the same save folder, but it edits all of its information to match it.
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Restart your server to apply the changes.
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Once your world’s loaded, you can connect and play Palworld on your new save file!
If you’re looking to transfer your server’s save folder to a local game, you can follow this guide and just swap the server and local machine around. For example: Locate the server’s save folder, download it to your PC, put it in your local save directory, and rename it so it matches the save you want to replace!
Conclusion
Transferring your Palworld save to a dedicated server is a straightforward process once you know where your save files are stored and how the server identifies world folders. By uploading your existing world and renaming it to match your server’s save directory, you can continue your adventure without losing any of your progress. After restarting your server, you’ll be able to jump back into your familiar world with friends and keep building, exploring, and catching Pals together.
